


Wardrobe Robber

by SabineElectricHeart (TheLifeAndLiesOfFerns)



Category: Pocket Monsters: HeartGold & SoulSilver | Pokemon HeartGold & SoulSilver Versions
Genre: Cutesy, F/M, Fluff, Laundry, Messy, Romance, Sharing Clothes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-14 18:21:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28925007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLifeAndLiesOfFerns/pseuds/SabineElectricHeart
Summary: Lyra is a slob when it comes to her clothes. Good thing Morty is there to lend her a hand. It may or may not devolve into kleptomania.
Relationships: Kotone | Lyra/Matsuba | Morty
Kudos: 10





	Wardrobe Robber

It was early November. The winter months were approaching and the Johto region was getting colder and colder, with cutting winds coming down from the mountains and torrential rain on the northern cities.

For that reason, on the last leg of the year, every sunny day was seized to its maximum. One such day was today, and Lyra had decided to spend it on a picnic for one on Lake Lucid, on the eastern end of Route 38. The nurses that cared for the place were out and about with their work, as the sun bended in an angle just right with the Bell Tower, framing it most beautifully.

The brunette girl brought a selection of her Water Pokémon, who were now happily playing on the lake, while she sat in the shores, munching on a sandwich and shivering with cold.

The Champion pulled her thin, red sweater tighter around her lithe body, cursing her bad luck. She felt a nudge from her right and looked up to see her friend Morty looking down at her.

“Are you cold, Lyra?” He asked, his brow slightly furrowed.

The blond man rarely concerned himself with pleasantries these days, not with people whose company he enjoyed. It seemed standoffish, but the brunette found it endearing.

Lyra smiled as a greeting and nodded slowly, rubbing her arms for warmth.

“I should have listened to the weather forecast and brought an extra jumper.” She admitted, earning a smirk from Morty. “I thought I would be hot with the hike here, but no such luck.”

He began to remove his own jumper and she looked away quickly when his shirt rode up and displayed a sliver of porcelain, soft skin.

“Here.” He said, handing her the purple jumper he was wearing.

She thanked him and sent him a quick smile before pulling the sweater over her head. She breathed in the imbued scent, one that reminded her of the tiny flat he had behind his gym, and felt herself flush. The sweater smelled of the fine sandalwood incense he always used, mixed with rice wine, sacred ash and chrysanthemum flower.

It was absolutely intoxicating.

Lyra pulled her chocolate-coloured hair out of the back of the sweater before she pulled the sleeves over her hands and placed them in her lap.

Morty, in turn, leaned closer to her, an inquisitive and mildly concerned look on his face.

“Is there a reason you are blushing like that?” He asked, his voice calm like the surface of the lake.

If possible, she flushed darker.

“I don’t know what you are talking about.” Lyra answered, avoiding his gaze.

“Well, if you aren’t feeling well, you ought to visit the Pokémon Centre.” He advised. “The nurses are remarkably kind, and they make great tea.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” The brunette chuckled.

Morty offered her a kind, if toothless, smile before spiriting away to his business.

* * *

After that, it became a bit of a habit to steal Morty’s clothes. Within over a year of theft, the brunette found herself with quite a selection.

They smelled like him and were far more comfortable than her own shirts and tight jumpsuits, so Lyra just could not resist. Besides, it was not as if it was all part of a plan to raid the gym leader’s wardrobe, but rather she was very, _very_ , careless with her clothes. Everything from rain, mud, tea and Pokémon dung has, at some point or another, stained her outfits.

When you look closely at it, it was all the fault of Ecutreak City, with all its messy traps for her to humiliate herself in public. No fault of her own, really. Besides, of course, _forgetting_ to return the pieces.

The Champion able to hide it well at first, only wearing his shirts in the comfort of her own home, but soon she could not help but begin wearing them to League casual engagements and out shopping in Goldenrod City, and now people were beginning to notice.

Will and Karen laughed amongst themselves anytime they met either Lyra or Morty, Jasmine and Bugsy smiled kindly at their interactions, and Pryce, Falkner and Clair rolled their eyes in derision over personal affairs taking precedence over important professional business.

Even _Eusine_ had noticed!

It had been one afternoon, when she met the clueless man in Cianwood City to discuss the League purchasing an old Codex on Suicune that he wanted for himself, due to come up in auction at Wyndon City in the Spring. She was wearing a brown pullover, tied with a golden pin she had borrowed from the gym leader when her blouse ripped after an attack on National Park.

Eusine narrowed his eyes and locked aim on the pin.

“Is that Morty’s?” He asked coldly, with little regard to common curtsy.

She had only shrugged in response.

“Be careful with that.” The man barked derisively, as if he thought she would lose it on purpose. “It is an heirloom.”

She narrowed her eyes, she might be careless with her own clothing, but she was taking _very_ good care of Morty’s. However, she elected not to make any comment, lest she was locked on a discussion with Eusine of all people the entire afternoon, and what a waste of a perfectly pleasant afternoon that would turn out to be.

However, unfortunately for the man, it was right then and there that Lyra decided that the League ought to buy the damn book, after all.

* * *

After the New Year’s, on another miserably rainy day in Ecutreak City, Lyra was at the Library, studying up on Imperial Law. She sat in a lone desk by the humming radiator, so engrossed in the subject on hand that she was oblivious to her surroundings.

Suddenly, a deep voice cut through her concentration.

“Would that be my old shirt?” Morty asked, looking curiously at her with his arms loosely crossed.

The Champion looked down at herself and panicked, remembering that she was, in fact, wearing his shirt, a blue and yellow long-sleeved model that hung loosely on top of her yoga pants.

She looked up at him, face flushed and her mouth open, unsure of how to explain herself.

“Uh, um… Yes?” She responded quietly.

Morty smirked, seemed rather pleased with the situation.

“And why exactly are she wearing my shirt?” He asked breezily, in intents to let the situation drag as much as he could.

She shrunk into herself, hoping that she would not drop dead from pure and unaltered embarrassment.

“It’s _so_ comfy…” She mumbled, earning a rare throaty chuckle from the boy before her.

Lyra sighs.

“I’m really sorry, Morty. I’ll give it back tomorrow.” She reassured him, shifting uncomfortably in her seat.

The gym leader just shook his head.

“You should just keep it.” He said, raising his eyebrows and looking her up and down. “This shirt is very old, I bought back when I was fourteen. It was going to end up at the charity basket anyways. At least you’re putting it to good use.”

He, then, turned on his heels and headed down the labyrinthine rows of shelves, effectively leaving her in a puddle.

* * *

A few days later, Lyra was wearing the first piece of clothing she lent, the purple jumper, to a girls’ breakfast in Goldenrod City, revelling in its warmth and its general “Mortyness”.

She was laughing with Whitney about some stupid gym anecdote when she suddenly knocked over her glass of red berry juice.

It splashed down onto the table, droplets flying all over her. The jumper might have been a rich violet, but it was now covered in a multitude of dark stains. Her gaunt hand flew to her gaping mouth, guilt beginning to tighten its hold on her throat.

The Champion scrambled out of the restaurant with no words or even a plan about where to go and hoped that she could somehow salvage the sweater. On her way towards the Department Store, where she assumed she would find some miraculous stain remover, she ran into somebody’s chest.

Lyra looked up to see Morty looking down at her with concern shining through his eyes.

“Are you alright?” The blond gym leader asked, placing a hand on her waist to steady her.

The girl crossed her arms across herself in an attempt to hide the mess she had made. She nodded quickly and attempted to shoot past him.

“Yes, I’m fine.” She mumbled as she tried to free herself from his grasp.

Morty reached for her shoulder, putting a stop to her escape attempts.

“Hold on there, Lyra.” He commanded, his voice stern. “What happened? You seem very distressed.”

The Champion turned to face him slowly and she felt tears burning behind her eyes. She had not meant to ruin something of his, but the lack of intent did not make the guilt go away. She removed her arms from her body and showed him the dark stains that were across her front.

“I’m sorry…” She sniffled. “It’s berry juice. I ruined it.”

Lyra avoided his gaze, waiting for him to yell at she or get angry, but instead, Morty began to laugh.

“Don’t you think that you’re being dramatic?” He asked her with a chuckle.

She frowned.

“I am not dramatic! I feel guilty, that’s all.” She explained with a pout.

Morty leaned over and ruffled her hair.

“Don’t you worry, Lyra. We just have to find a dry cleaner’s.” The young man said calmly, as if nothing could ever bother him. “I am sure a good one will wash the juice right out.”

She flushed. Somehow, in her panic, she had forgotten that she could go to a dry cleaner’s, instead of trying to remove the stain herself, which she would never manage.

“I’m really sorry, Morty.” She said, embarrassedly. “I’m always asking to borrow your clothes and I can’t even take good care of them. I’ll pay for the cleaning, and a new sweater, too.”

The blond man held up a bag from the Department Store. “It is no trouble at all, Lyra. There are plenty of jumpers from where this one came from. I hold no special attachment to it.”

“But still…” The brunette bemoaned lightly, still feeling nervous about the whole situation. “At least let me return what I borrowed. At least let me return the pin you gave me, Eusine said it is an heirloom.”

“I really want you to keep it all.” He insisted. “To be honest, I find it flattering when you wear them. It makes me happier if you have them than it would getting it all back.”

Lyra blushed profusely. “Cheeky. I bet you say that to all the girls.”

Morty shook his head and chuckled. “Nope, only the cute ones who borrow my sweaters.”


End file.
